Dear Future Head Counselors of the Aphrodite Cabin
by The ShadowEye
Summary: Advice from one head counselor passed to the next. One-shot.


**I'm baaaack! I know it's been years since the last anyone's heard of me, but I'm still here and I will be posting even more regularly now (I hope)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, themes, or anything from Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus.**

 **Enjoy**

The night she became head counselor, Piper found a note written in French hidden under her sheets:

 _To all future head counselors of the Aphrodite cabin,_

 _Every cabin has its own perks and differences. What the other counselors advise you may not work here. This is why I'm writing you this letter. I've been in your spot for three years now. More than anyone else I know what unique challenges you'll face and how I wished I had somebody warn me when I started._  
 _So here's my advice to you:_  
 _As children of Aphrodite, we tend to be underestimated in terms of battle skill. No, we do not have the same inborn knowledge as the children of Ares and Athena do, but we are still demigods. Don't let our parentage keep any of us from learning to fight - not even the youngest, girliest girl in our cabin._  
 _That being said, don't let any of us feel pressured into participating into activities like sword fighting or capture-the-flag. This is not our strength, and that's okay. Encourage each girl and boy to embrace their own talents._  
 _Be cautious of the rite of passage._  
 _Almost every cabin has one, but ours is so much more awful. Don't listen to the horror stories of those of us who didn't do it this way. No matter what you may hear, there is no punishment worth deliberately breaking a person's heart._  
 _You will no doubt have at least one sibling with charmspeak. Be very, very careful. Charmspeak can tempted some into bad actions, but it also can be used for good. (Also, those with it have seriously gorgeous singing voices.)_  
 _At least once while your counselor, the Hermes cabin will drop something into the cabin with a note attached saying "For the most beautiful" or something like that. This can get out of control very fast. The best method for damage control is to distract. Usually a day after the incident works best. Topics like celebrities, movies, music, and the relationships of other campers always work. Never say that one sibling is more beautiful than the other. This will end in war (literally)._  
 _Try to encourage relations with mortal families. A lot of us end up with rich but completed distracted fathers. They still care about their children, trust me. Mom doesn't fall in love with men who can't even love their own child._  
 _Stepmoms are a different battle. If someone has a cruel stepparent, it is perfectly okay to make their lives miserable. You or someone in the cabin should be able to permanently mess up their hair, or give them a nasty allergy to makeup, or ruin all their favorite dresses. For any jerk males in the family, bad breath is a killer. Egging cars works wonders for both sexes._  
 _It is also perfectly okay to set up other campers. We are rarely wrong when it comes to who belongs with who, so we are helping, not meddling. Speaking of which, manipulating capture-the-flag games so that potential couples are on opposing sides is a sure fire way to speed the process up. It has never failed me._  
 _It doesn't matter how close you actually are to them, as the leader of this cabin, you hate the Hunters of Artemis._  
 _Beware of hairspray. Multiple times while I was here we had to evacuate because of an overuse of hairspray. I'm not joking. Also, aerosol cans are dangerous. We had one leak my first year here in the middle of the night. It was a mess. Please be careful with them._  
 _If the perfume smell in the cabin gets too much, the Demeter cabin is extremely talented at freshening a space up. As long as your on their good side, they'll be more than willing to help. They can make it smell like flowers, citrus, trees, fresh air, anything natural that you'd like._  
 _Which reminds me, perfume can be weaponized if the Hermes cabin gets too out of hand. So can hair glitter and makeup._  
 _There is a collection of cheesy romance films under the floor, as well as a portable TV (courtesy of cabin nine). This is the go-to kit for any heartbreaks or other disasters and tragedies. Please keep this collection going; you will need it someday._  
 _When your time as head counselor is done, please instruct one of your younger siblings to leave this on the bed of the next one up in line. They will need this as much as you. Until then, there is a small board loose under the movies in the secret compartment mentioned above. This is a good hiding space. Keep this there during your time as head counselor._  
 _The last thing you need to know is that as a child of Aphrodite, you love fiercer than most. You care for your family and friends far more than most of the other campers, and there will be those who seek to use this. To use you. The number one thing to remember if this happens is that it does not make you weak. If anything, love makes you stronger. Never be ashamed of the live you have. And no matter the circumstance, there is always a solution, even if it takes sacrifice._

 _With love,_

 _Silena B._


End file.
